Another Story of A Promise Lost
Another Story of A Promise Lost is the title of the Drama CD that was released alongside Pandora Hearts 22. It featured a story set prior to Lacie being dropped into the Abyss during the four months that Jack visited the Baskerville estate - likely shortly after the events of The Story of Thresholds: A Promise Lost from Pandora Hearts ~Caucus Race~ Volume 3. Summary In an interaction between a man and a woman, the woman asks if the man is about to leave. In a turn of events the man denies being able to go without having her by his side. The woman throws herself at the man upon hearing this and professes her love to him, making note of how she doesn't want to have to part ways with him either. In response, the man simply asks "why" - confusing the woman. To elaborate, the man questions why the woman would say such a thing after he'd finally made up his mind to just give up, believing that despite what he wants their separation would be what's best for her. However, the woman states that if the man was really thinking about what's best for her, then he would stay. The man holds the woman tightly in his arms and ponders whether or not staying would cause the woman to suffer, asking if the woman truly wants him to stay - which the woman confirms, claiming that she doesn't need anything else so long as they can be together. Suddenly the two hear laughter, which the woman shockingly identifies as his brother. The brother scolds his sister - calling her a bad girl for betraying him. The brother claims that his sister belongs to him and that he'd never allow her to belong to anyone else. As the brother draws his sword he dives into battle against the man, successfully managing to kill the man. As the man drops to the ground, the woman screams out in horror and questions why it had to turn out this way, while her brother laughs maniacally in the background. Having read over his latest draft, a frustrated Levi balls up the paper and throws it away in frustration - voicing how the draft wasn't good enough and how he's been stricken with writers block, as he can't seem to write anything worth reading. Looking to Jack and Lacie, Levi asks for some potential topics for inspiration, but the notion makes Jack laugh while Lacie outright refuses. Frustrated, Levi states that Lacie is always the same - unwilling to comply - yet he still always asks despite the fact that he knows that the answer will always be the same. Jack tries to sympathize with Levi, by telling him that their noncompliance is driven by Levi's inability to divulge any detail - so in the end they'd still have no idea what was going on regardless of whether they helped him or not. However Lacie just tells Jack not to bother with Levi, as he's sugarcoating his situation, saying bluntly how Levi has finally figured out that he's never written anything worth publishing into a novel, so Levi's writer's block is a good thing and that Levi should just give up. With this, Levi asks why Lacie assumes that his writer's block is related to his writing skills. Accepting what Lacie has said, Jack turns to Levi and admits that he doesn't have any literary talent, so he doesn't think that he'd be any help to Levi - however Levi says otherwise. What Levi desires is not Jack's literary skill, but to hear bout his experiences with lust - confusing Jack and prompting Levi to scale down his request to simply love. While Lacie brushes off the concept as boring, Levi explains how before - whether he was writing about a knight, a detective or the like - the core of his stories always had something to do with the friendship between two men, hence why he wants to try writing a steamy love novel as his next work. With this in mind, Jack claims that he has even less to say, as the kind of thing that Levi would have to rely on would have to be his own personal experiences rather than his in order to make it more persuading. Lacie asks what Jack is trying to say, suggesting that it's that someone like Levi couldn't have ever truly fallen in love with someone. Though Levi retorts that Lacie sure knows how to talk, glorifying himself as the most passionate man in the Baskerville Clan - and despite Jack's skepticism, Levi admits to being in love at that very moment. Without hesitation, Jack asks who Levi's in love with, and so Levi reveals that it is none other than Lacie. with the shattering of a teapot, Oswald asks what his master is getting at - having been standing behind him the entire time, unbeknownst to Levi. While Lacie informs Levi that her brother's been present for their entire conversation, Jack looks to the shattered teapot and remarks on how their tea was wasted after all the trouble they'd gone through to prepare it while he begins to pick up the teapot's broken shards. Oswald insists that if Levi were to ever lay a hand on Lacie, he would never be able to forgive his master - only for Jack to defend Levi by saying that everyone should be free to like whomever they want to like. Though Oswald hesitantly agrees, Levi enforces the idea by claiming to understand how Oswald would feel if his sister were taken away by his master who's his polar opposite: intelligent, handsome and respected like the mighty river. Ultimately Levi mentions how if he were in Oswald's position, he would also most definitely feel inferior and shameful, such a sad thing to contemplate. Looking to Oswald, Lacie gives him permission to cut down Levi, a chance which Oswald doesn't hesitate to take. Drawing his sword, Oswald tells Levi that if he intends on saying such things about his sister, then he must prepare himself for battle. Coming between the two, Jack places a hand on Oswald's shoulder and asks Levi what it is about Lacie that he likes. Abruptly, Levi reveals that he likes how Lacie isn't cute - to which Oswald insists that Lacie is very cute - prompting Levi to elaborate that it's cute that she isn't cute, a concept which he doesn't expect Oswald to understand. Going on, Levi explains that he also likes Lacie's face, as well as her beautiful black hair, and after grouping her apparent "likable" qualities so far listed - Lacie tells Levi that he is absolutely awful. With this, Jack assumes that Levi is saying he's attracted to women with black hair - however Levi corrects him by saying that he's actually normally not attracted to brunettes at all - admitting that the last woman he liked was a blonde. This makes Jack wonder if that woman also happened to be a Baskerville, which Levi confirms - stating that it was actually his predecessor as Glen. While Lacie and Jack absorb what they've just heard, Oswald voices his shocked by asking if the unprofessional ism of Levi's attraction should be frowned upon. Levi elaborates that his predecessor always cross-dressed, and that he didn't in fact know she was a woman until a long amount of time had passed. Having grown to like her, Levi made numerous advances toward his predecessor - all of which were denied as their relationship became more detached, admitting that it even got to the point where he was beaten by her as punishment. Lacie simply turns her nose up and claims that she has nothing to say about Levi's attraction to his predecessor - encouraging Jack to suggest that the two are a good fit for one another. Hearing this, Levi denies this, as he says that nothing ever ended up happening between him and his predecessor - however Jack had actually been referring to Lacie rather than the female Glen. Lacie, Levi and Oswald are unable to contain their shock, and so Jack explains that it only makes sense given how long the two have known each other for, which must mean that they understand each other well. As he thinks about what Jack has said, Oswald wonders what the world would be like if Lacie and Levi really did become lovers. Oswald pictures Levi chasing after Lacie playfully, with Lacie egging him on as she refuses to wait for Levi. With this Levi says that if Lacie doesn't wait for him, he'll have to release his Chains in order to catch her, summoning Jabberwock to block Lacie's path. Lacie mentions how with Jabberwock in front of her like a wall, there's no where left for her to run - calling the whole situation a headache. Levi manages to catch up to Lacie, who praises Levi's slyness in releasing Jabberwock in order to catch her. As the two embrace, Levi tells Lacie that he could let Jabberwock's wings cover her eyes, for which Lacie calls Levi troublesome as she notes that Levi's hugging her so tightly - and as the two come in closer to each other... Oswald casts the thought from his mind - vowing never to let something like that happen, as he doesn't want to have to see his master and his sister like that. Lacie asks if Oswald just made up some kind of ridiculous fantasy, which Levi reiterates as he addresses Oswald as his "brother-in-law" - making Oswald even more uncomfortable. While Jack tries to intercede - Oswald tells him to shut up as he has no idea what Levi is really like, insisting that Levi doesn't really like anyone, he's simply toying with them to entertain himself for the moment - which Jack admits would be troublesome. Despite this, Levi stands firm and says that he's series, which Jack makes a note of, only for Oswald to tell him not to take Levi's seriousness seriously. As the verbal jousting continues, Lacie tells Levi to stop playing around with her brother, as Oswald is different from him in the way that he's pure-hearted, hard working and cute. Levi argues that Lacie obviously enjoys teasing Oswald as well, which she confirms - with Oswald agreeing that Lacie is allowed to tease him because he's his sister's playmate. Jack tries to tell Oswald that what he's saying isn't exactly the same thing as what Lacie's getting at, but Levi advises him to stop trying because Oswald can only take pride in being teased and playing dumb. Suddenly, Lacie sees something and screams in terror, jumping into Oswald's arms. When Oswald asks what happened, Lacie points out a centipede wriggling around nearby. With Lacie unable to get past her fear, Oswald promises to take care of the centipede for her, drawing his sword in order to end its life - only he's beaten to the punch by jack, who simply steps on the centipede and kills it. Oswald and Levi are surprised that Jack would step on the centipede - with Jack reasoning that he didn't want to have to use his hands to kill it - while Lacie continues to recoil in terror, telling Jack that if he takes a single step towards her with the centipede under his foot she'd never be able to forgive him. Jack is still confused by the situation as Oswald advises him not to lift his foot to look at the centipede, wondering how Jack could do something like that in front of Lacie like that. Lacie simply reiterates that she doesn't want Jack to move, asking him how he expects to clean the bug intestines off of his shoe. Though Jack wonders why he can't just wash off his shoe, Lacie makes a point of saying that Jack isn't addressing the real problem - which does not help Jack's confusion and only makes Levi laugh. Looking to Jack, Oswald wonders how he can be so calm in the situation, having no trace of remorse and appearing just as clear as water. Once again stunned by Oswald's reference to Jack's abnormal identity being disturbing as untouched water, Jack takes a moment to absorb what's happened. Jack then begins to freak out, shouting about how he'd killed an innocent life by stepping on the centipede and killing it. Taking it one step further, Jack grabs onto Oswald and asks how he should repent for his sins - prompting Oswald to question what Jack is trying to do. Jack asks if that wasn't the kind of reaction that Oswald wanted - to which a confused Oswald wonders what Jack's trying to achieve through his acting - but Jack instead believes that Oswald's saying he chose the wrong direction, taking on a persona of a disgusted citizen, asking Oswald how he's supposed to clean his shoe after accidentally stepping on a bug, encouraging Oswald to help him clean it off as fast as possible. Pushing Jack away, Oswald advises him to stop with his act, as he's being disgusting - which Jack takes as another scolding - prompting to Levi to ask what Jack's trying to do because it's hilarious. Taking on a more serious tone, Lacie mentions how awful the entire situation is, telling Jack to take off his shoes and clean the floors before announcing that she's going to bed. As Lacie leaves, Oswald chases after her, leaving a confused Jack behind with Levi, who tells him that the cleaning supplies are all downstairs. Oswald manages to catch up to Lacie, and asks about whether or not Levi was really being serious. Only Lacie assures Oswald that he has nothing to worry about, because Levi just wanted to make him squirm. As Oswald accepts this, Lacie tells him that she can understand Levi's feelings because she too finds Oswald's worried expression very cute. Before Oswald can really question what Lacie means, Lacie assures him that she won't become anyone's "thing", in fact she doesn't want to become anyone's "thing" until the very end. With this in mind, Oswald immediately thinks of Jack, but when he asks if Jack's made any advances toward Lacie, Lacie firmly tells Oswald that Jack doesn't love her - in fact, Jack doesn't love anyone. As Jack cleans the area where he'd stepped on the centipede, he voices how he never would've thought that Lacie was afraid of bugs - asking Levi what he should do because Lacie seemed to be mad at him for killing it. Levi merely tells Jack not to worry, because within a day's time Lacie won't be mad anymore - just thinking about how fickle Lacie is really makes Levi shine as he mentions how amazing was when she saw the centipede. To explain, Levi admits that he's more interested in the contrast of seeing someone like Lacie - who consistently acts high and mighty - be afraid of bugs and be brought to tears by it in the end, asking Jack if he too finds himself feeling excited about that. Laughing, Jack adds that when a woman reveals another side of them that they usually keep hidden, it makes them more attractive - which Levi agrees to, believing that Jack much have a rich experience with that sort of thing. Curious, Levi asks Jack to divulge some of his funny and interesting experiences with dating women that he's had in the past. However, Jack insists that there's no such thing, claiming to have never been serious with the few women he's dated - though accepts this as enough for him and encourages Jack to divulge. Jack warns Levi that it will become a sad story in the end, but this only piques Levi's interest more as he asks Jack what kind of woman she was. Rather than list one name, Jack names of several women, Stella, Jane, Flora, Felicia, Christine, Bella, Marian and Bridgett - surprising Levi with the vast number of women. Continuing, Jack says that all of them were very good woman with beautiful bright smiles who were good at singing and dancing, while also being brave and intelligent -but in the end they all died. When Levi questions this, Jack explains that some of them ended up dying in an accident, or from an illness while others even committed suicide - prompting Levi to ask what happened and encourage Jack to explain how he'd met the women, being interested in the follow up despite it having nothing to do with romance. To begin, Jack reveals that he'd met Stella when he was 17 - as she was a maid serving the Vessaliuses. Jack carries on for hours, finishing with his story about Bridgett. Levi tells Jack that he's a little disappointed because he feels as though a piece of him has been taken away, adding that it's good that Oswald isn't there as he'd likely be traumatized if he'd heard Jack's stories. This surprises Jack a little, and so he asks Levi if he's right to assume that the stories weren't very interesting. Denying Jack's assumption, Levi claims that the stories had been very deep and memorable, and it's because of them that he'll definitely be able to write an amazing story. Happy to have helped Levi, Jack states that he's going to head back to the Vessalius estate now that he's done with the cleaning, pleased by all the things he'd been allowed to hear that made him happy. Before Jack leaves however, Levi asks how Jack would feel if he really did love Lacie - but Jack assures Levi that he wouldn't feel anything, as whoever likes Lacie and whoever she likes doesn't has nothing to do with him. This makes Levi ask if Jack's okay with the way things are now, which Jack confirms - stating that whatever happens won't change how he feels about Lacie. Having expected this much from Jack, Levi admits to feeling relieved, asking if Jack would describe how he feels about Lacie as "love" - but Jack isn't able to answer this, as he finds it hard to use words to describe how he feels. Although he is intrigued, Levi doesn't pry and apologizes for asking such a boring question, suggesting that Jack should just forget that he'd ever asked. Still not ready to leave, Jack tells Levi that he wants to keep living, as the world is the equivalent of all devouring darkness to him, and yet because he'd been found by Lacie he has reason to remain. (To Be Concluded) Characters *Jabberwock* *Stella *Jane *Flora *Felicia *Christine *Bella *Marian *Bridgett *Oz *Gilbert Nightray *Alice *Xerxes Break *Rainsworth] *Elliot Nightray* *Leo }} Terms (Coming Soon!) Trivia *Another Story of A Promise Lost offers a view into Jack's reasoning for his hopeless persona through his relations with 8 women since he was 17 and rising through society, who all met tragic ends for which it is heavily implied Jack feel responsible for. *Another Story of A Promise Lost also elaborates on the idea of the Female Glen Baskerville that preceded Levi, whom had been previously mentioned in Pandora Hearts 18.5: Evidence only. *Furthermore, Another Story of A Promise Lost elaborates on subjects introduced in The Story of Thresholds: A Promise Lost, delving deeper into Levi's motivations as Evil. B and Jack's true feelings for Lacie. Category:Drama CD Category:Media